NHL Notebook: What’s next for Bruins following Marcus Johansson’s departure, is David Backes’ contract immovable?

When Don Sweeney acknowledged on Monday that the Bruins had not extended a contract offer to their top unrestricted free agent in Marcus Johansson, it was a hard pill to swallow — with a team that came within just one game of a Cup title now forced to look internally to replace a versatile winger that formed an effective tandem with Charlie Coyle in a bottom-six role. 

But it was a result that, as painful as it was, was not totally unexpected. With just a little over $10 million in cap space to work with for the rest of the summer and three RFAs still to be signed, it seemed that Boston was going to be out of the running before bidding even got underway for Johansson — a sentiment that appeared to be validated by Sweeney’s comments. 

After all, after a fantastic playoff run in which Johansson tallied 11 points over 22 postseason matchups, Johansson, 28, was poised to cash in with what could have been his last major, long-term contract on the open market, with a deal headlined by an AAV of $5 million-plus or more standing as a possibility. 

Well, such wasn’t the case after all. Five days after the free-agency frenzy opened up in the NHL, Johansson has finally found a new home — and for great value. 



The winger will remain in the Atlantic Division, as Johansson signed off on a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres with an AAV of $4.5 million. Remarkably, this new deal will actually pay him less on an annual basis than the $4.75 million he made in 2018-19. 

Had Johansson signed, say, a four- or five-year contract worth $5.5 million or more, then this would be much more of an acceptable result for the Bruins when it comes to how their offseason has gone. But given the relative fair value he received from Buffalo — and especially that term — this is a tough hit for the Bruins, who only have themselves to blame for not having the capital to retain one of the key cogs from their Cup run. 

With David Backes’ contract ($6 million cap hit over the next two seasons) hanging around this team like an albatross, the Bruins simply didn’t have the means to wade very deep into this FA pool — and may not have enough to even sign their RFAs without cutting money elsewhere. 

While the search for a top-six winger stood as one of Cam Neely’s priorities for the offseason, the Bruins now have another fire to put out in their lineup with Johansson’s absence. 

So where do the Bruins go from here? 

Boston could opt to completely overhaul its third line (one that scored 10 5v5 goals in the playoffs in the 213:18 of TOI in which Coyle and Johansson were deployed) and slot up Charlie Coyle to the second line to play to David Krejci’s right. 

A pivot like Sean Kuraly or even a youngster like Jack Studnicka could get a bump up to 3C, while one of Boston’s latest FA additions like Par Lindholm could center the fourth line. A carousel of wingers headlined by Anders Bjork and Brett Ritchie would then likely compete for the vacancy left by Johansson at 3RW. 

If Boston was to keep Coyle at 3C and roll out a lineup with four NHL-caliber pivots in Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Coyle and Kuraly, then perhaps the B’s would be best suited to bump down David Pastrnak to the second line to play with Krejci and slot in a winger like Danton Heinen or Bjork to play on the first line with Bergeron and Brad Marchand. 

(A reminder that playing with 37 and 63 benefits just about everyone that Cassidy and the Bruins have put up on that line.)



With Coyle keeping that third line afloat, Bruce Cassidy could mix and match the wingers to complete the bottom-six trio, with Heinen, Bjork, Karson Kuhlman, Oskar Steen and more in the mix. Other options, albeit ones considerably less exciting, also remain on the table. 

“We’ll see what Peter Cehlarik does,” Sweeney said. “I think we have, as I referenced, some guys internally. Paul Carey’s another guy that’s played a lot of games in the National Hockey League with his skillset. You never know where guys are going to come back at and assimilate with. 

“You know, Paul being able to play with Charlie Coyle, let’s see. Let’s see where it goes. I’m not rubber-stamping any of that, but I do believe we have enough depth that was an area that showed up in this year’s team that was very valuable. Hopefully, we recognize that we’ve addressed some of that when we couldn’t go fishing in the deepest of waters.”

There’s plenty of intriguing routes for the Bruins to take, but none as strong as what Johansson could have brought this club on a short-term deal.

Trade destinations?

Sweeney didn’t seem too concerned earlier this week when it came to the Bruins’ top offseason priority — re-signing their trio of restricted free agents in Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen, even with minimal cap flexibility to work with. 

“Well, it depends on where those deals land and the terms, obviously,” Sweeney said. “We feel comfortable where we’re at, you know, from our current cap space. We don’t foresee any problems reaching deals with players, depending on the terms.”

It seems to be a bit of wishful thinking that Boston will be able to re-up those three with their cap space as is, given that McAvoy should command at least $6 million annually with this new deal — if not much more if he settles on a longer-term deal. Add in what should be at least $4 million for Carlo and whatever Heinen is set to cop from salary arbitration, and the money simply doesn’t seem to add up.  

Simply put, Boston needs to free up some more cash this summer and the most logical route continues to be finding a way to get out of David Backes’ contract. 

Of course, that’s much easier said than done, with Boston now looking for takers for a deal that count as a $6 million cap hit in both 2019-20 and 2020-21. As we’ve discussed before when it comes to possible scenarios, a buyout is a lost cause (they’d shed less than $400,000 in cap space in 2019), while potentially storing him down in the AHL would also only free up a little in terms of extra cash. 

The only route seems to be via trade, and it’s not going to be an easy process for Sweeney and his staff — given that the Maple Leafs just had to part ways with a first-round pick just to get Patrick Marleau’s $6.25-million salary off of their books for just one year. 

If Boston wants to get this contract off the books without having to eat some of the cash in the process, it’s going to hurt — with draft capital and a prospect or two likely having to be packaged into any deal involving Backes. 

However, the Bruins have a few things working in their favor to make such a deal a bit more tantalizing. 

While multiple clubs are struggling to adhere to the league’s new salary cap of $81.5 million for the 2019-20 season, there are other teams that are just trying to hit the cap floor of $60.2 million and beyond.

Adding a player with a $6 million cap hit in Backes could go a long way for some of these teams, while the real money that is actually owed to Backes would be far less — as Boston gave Boston a $3 million signing bonus on July 1. In total, the base salary that a new team would have to pay Backes for the next two seasons is just $4 million — while that cap hit of $6 million for 2019-20 and 2020-21 remains and would help reach cap-floor limits. 

So which team could bite if Boston came calling with Backes and, say, a prospect, pick or both? 

The Ottawa Senators stand out as an obvious candidate, given how much the club wouldn’t have to pay outright for Backes while also benefiting from that $6-million cap hit. With over $21 million in cap space and three forwards signed through the 2020-21 campaign, the Senators could use a contract like Backes to keep it afloat against the cap floor.

Of course, Backes does have some trade protections, as he has a list of eight teams — already submitted to the Bruins — that he would prefer to be dealt to if such a scenario did occur. However, if playing for a rebuilding organization like Ottawa would guarantee regular starting time (which seems unlikely on this Bruins team), then perhaps Backes does bite the bullet. 

Whichever destination becomes a fit, one thing seems certain — the Bruins need to find a way to clear that contract and fast, even if Sweeney noted that Backes still presents some on-ice value with his current club. 

“Yeah, we have his trade list,” Sweeney said. “Again, not going to talk about which teams I may or may not be discussing with David or with any of our other players. It’s a possibility. It’s on the table that we may, but you know, as of right now he’s a part of our group and again, we talk about replacing a player that was pretty effective in the fourth-line role. 

“You know, David played very well when he was playing with Sean and Nordy as well, and there’s a physicality piece there, so that’s – he comes back to reclaim that position or higher in the lineup, that’s up to David. I would treat it exactly as I would with all of our players in terms of what our expectations are.”